Keeping Players Engaged in Practice

The most important thing that a coach needs to do in order to avoid boredom and as a consequence your kids from being disruptive is to keep them engaged.  During practice kids should always be busy during drills.  Don't have them wasting too much time in line waiting for their turns to run a drill.  Choose drills which minimize the amount of time that kids spend waiting.  Keep them engaged.


Another thing you should do is keep them occupied mentally.  Choose drills which will keep their concentration on the drill as opposed being devious.

As a general rule, try to avoid the 3 L's:

1. Lines
2. Laps
3. Lectures

If you keep the kids active both physically and mentally they won't have the time to let their mind drift.  Try to keep things interesting for them.

One final thing to keep in mind is to never take what the kids do personally.  If they do act out or are disruptive it is usually because they want to test your patience and authority.  There are a few things that you as a coach can do when this happens:

1. Pull them to the side and talk to them one on one.  Tell them that you feel that they are being disruptive and ask them if there is a specific reason why they are acting the way they are.
2. You might want to give them a bit more authority and let them lead a drill.  This will show them that you trust them and expect them to act like a leader.
3. If the disruptiveness continues, you may want to consider talking with the parents and discussing what can be done to keep them on track.
4. Sit them out for a part of practice and let them know that they can participate again when they are ready.
5. If the disruptiveness is excessive, then you may have to consider keeping them from practice and games.  You cannot have a bad seed ruin everything for the rest of the team.

In general, kids want to play and have fun.  If you arrange a practice which keeps them active physically you will have kids who not only stay focused but will also improve.